WOODRIDGE, Ill., Nov. 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Navitas Systems LLC (www.navitassys.com), a leading provider of energy-enabled system solutions, energy storage products, and power electronics for commercial, industrial and government/military customers, announced today that its team—which includes Oshkosh Defense—has been awarded a four year $7.2 million contract to develop second generation (Gen 2) lithium-ion batteries for military vehicles.

The U.S. military and most NATO countries to-date have used lead acid batteries in the form factor called "6T" to provide starting and energy storage for its ground vehicles. While this system is reliable and fairly inexpensive, it suffers from a number of significant drawbacks including low cycle life, low energy density/specific energy, poor recharge rate compared to other battery chemistries, high weight, and must be used in series pairs to meet the 24V electrical bus requirements on today's sophisticated military vehicles. Given both the historical limitations of lead acid, combined with the increasing installations of new power-hungry electronics, the US Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC) along with Navitas have been heavily investing in the development of prototype 24V lithium-ion 6T batteries and are in the process of testing the first generation of these prototypes. Navitas (along with two other battery companies) has previously received research funding from TARDEC to develop Gen1 lithium 6T batteries, and was the only company selected for development funding of the next generation 6T battery.

Navitas' newest and exclusive award will focus on developing an improved Gen 2 lithium-ion 6T battery for military vehicles. Over the last two years, Navitas has been developing an exploratory Gen 2 vehicle battery resulting in prototype "alpha" version Gen 2 lithium-ion cells and early prototype batteries. Under this newest award, Navitas has been tasked by the National Advanced Mobility Consortium ("NAMC") to build upon this foundation, further develop and deliver improved, validated, and manufacturable "beta" versions of Gen 2 lithium-ion 6T batteries suitable for use in both legacy and new, advanced military vehicle systems. These improved Gen 2 beta 6T lithium batteries are expected to have higher cold cranking capability than today's lead acid batteries, and significantly increased energy density, with a weight savings of 70%.

"It is an honor and a privilege to receive the NAMC award, which is focused on the development of a breakthrough Gen 2 6T battery for the US Military. I am extremely proud of our team; this win is a great testimonial of Navitas' full capabilities and it is an important next step in the evolution of lithium-ion technology. All of us at Navitas are humbled by the responsibility to build the battery of tomorrow," stated Navitas System's Chairman and Founder, Alan ElShafei. "We want to thank NAMC and TARDEC for the trust they have bestowed upon us, and we look forward to working closely with our teaming partners, including Oshkosh Corporation".

Navitas will focus on optimizing the cell chemistry and mechanical design to amplify service life, energy density and low temperature power capability. The cell design will be tuned to maximize the use of currently available technologies, and cycle life will be achieved through optimization of the materials themselves. Cold crank capability will be increased, enabling introduction of new vehicles and systems into the field. The battery will deliver up to 100% improvement in Energy (kWh) capacity over both lead-acid and first generation lithium-ion batteries, and will enable replacement of two lead-acid 6T batteries with one lithium-ion 6T battery in a vehicle.

"At Navitas Systems, we take great pride in partnerships" said Mil Ovan, Navitas Systems LLC President. "We're delighted to have on our team Oshkosh Defense—the world's leading tactical wheeled vehicle manufacturer and the recent winner of the $6.7B Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) contract—who will be responsible for in-vehicle integration and testing of prototype Gen 2 6T batteries.

Prototype Gen 2 6T batteries will be delivered to Oshkosh for in-vehicle integration and testing, which will be conducted by Oshkosh at their Global Technology Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Vehicle testing will verify and validate that the battery meets the demanding military vehicle performance requirements. "We look forward to putting the newest generation 6T battery through its paces in one of our vehicles" said Chris Yakes, vice president of Corporate Engineering for Oshkosh. "The sophisticated electronics on board today's military vehicles, as well as rapidly emerging C4ISR requirements, calls for a modern battery to match."

Lastly, Navitas will actively support the delivery to and testing of battery packs including its advanced next generation proprietary battery management system at TARDEC and/or TARDEC-designated testing organization or vehicle demonstrator partner prior to proceeding to the manufacturing phase. The goal of the program is to deliver an improved 120Ah second generation lithium-ion 6T battery product which shall be validated through laboratory and in-vehicle testing, and qualify a domestic volume manufacturing capability.

Navitas is headquartered in a state-of-the-art 100,000 square foot facility in Woodridge, Illinois. In early 2012, the company acquired the Government Solutions Group of lithium battery manufacturer A123 Systems. With this acquired major research facility located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, along with strong local and offshore partners and solid financial stability, Navitas is well positioned to continue serving the energy products and power electronics needs of major worldwide customers.

The National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC) is a nation-wide alliance of traditional and nontraditional small businesses, large defense contractors, academic institutions, and other research organizations involved with the translational research and development of the complete range of prototype, ground vehicle and robotics systems and technologies.

The Defense Mobility Enterprise (DME) is a single consortium of Government Laboratories and Agencies managed by the Vehicle and Robotics Alliance Program Office (VRA PO) out of TARDEC and an Industry/Academic component – the NAMC.

The enterprise operates under an Other Transaction Agreement as allowed by Section 845 of Public Law 103 – 160. It is the flexibility inherent in the Section 845 Other Transaction that enables the Government, Industry, and Academia partnership to quickly and effectively provide innovative ground vehicle technology solutions to the warfighter.

Under an Annual Plan Cycle, the NAMC accelerates the transition of innovative technology into transformative ground vehicles and systems is in several important ways: